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Post by jayworld on Dec 4, 2014 10:23:29 GMT -5
Hi, All:
I check this board at least twice daily for new posts, articles of interest, news, tips, customization pics, etc. Noticed the following:
1. We have 150 members listed on the board, yet there are only about 6 of us who actually post on a regular/semi-regular basis.
2. No activity in the Buy/Sell/Trade section since Augustl or so, and even then the activity is very sporadic. There was a post in the Sell area in November about "Lego Lights" from a brand new member (1 post), but I replied to that as I was not sure if it was a post to sell the lights or possibly a "spam" post....
Any thoughts or suggestions on how to keep this board up and interesting and possibly draw new members? I'm sure there are more than 150 Johnny West collectors out there. I HOPE that there are lots of collectors of the CXR gear, figures, etc., but it seems that from recent posts and pics that the number of actual collectors of CXR/New Marx figures and accessories may be very small, with the same collectors buying multiple versions of figures, etc. Is this right?
Just wanted to gauge the community on interest, etc. My only stake in this is that I love Johnny West (since the late 1960s) and my interest and collection was totally revitalized with Noah, Terri, CXR, and this board! I'd hate to see all this come to a slow end....
Thoughts?
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Post by jim0680 on Dec 4, 2014 16:22:10 GMT -5
Hi haven't been here in while. Is the cxr store stille taking orders I know noah had bad accident few years ago
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Post by jayworld on Dec 4, 2014 17:11:45 GMT -5
Not sure about the CXR store, but Noah passed away a couple of months ago after battling the effects of his accident for the past 5 years. See the "Farewell Noah" posts on this forum.
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Post by jim0680 on Dec 4, 2014 18:30:05 GMT -5
Sad. God bless him. I don't think Terri was able to keep up by herself running the business.
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Post by terryschimm on Dec 4, 2014 20:45:48 GMT -5
Sadly, I'm not sure there is much that can be done to revive the Ranch to anywhere near what it was in it's heyday. It was beginning to peter out for various reasons even before Noah's accident, with many longtime members already moved on. Since it's very unlikely we'll ever see any new products or anyone reproducing the old ones again, that doesn't bode well for active participation or attracting new members. I also think a lot of folks have "aged out", selling their collections & pursuing other interests, which is kind of the phase I'm entering. The same thing has happened to my G.I. Joe groups...just a shell of what they once were. Personally, I haven't added anything different to my collection in years, so there just isn't much I can contribute anymore.
Terry
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Post by fortapache on Dec 5, 2014 0:16:59 GMT -5
Seems everyone went to the facebook group. I am not huge on facebook myself, can't really do there what I do here. Or can't do it as well.
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Post by otterpar1 on Dec 5, 2014 9:38:48 GMT -5
I still check every day, too, but don't seem to have much to add. Like fortapache said, Facebook is a big detractor. There's a turkey hunting website that I've been a member of for almost 20 years and it's been winding down as well. Sad... technology keeps replacing things...
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Post by savewithdave on Dec 5, 2014 9:57:00 GMT -5
Hey Gang I also check here often & yes I have joined the Facebook group & did not do much on fb until that. Now on it all the Time. LOL.
As far as the ranch many factors I'm sure several.mentioned in this thread & of course all of the legal stuff that splintered & fractured the group way back when long before proboards. & then Yahoo went haywire .
Now proboards not able to add to pics without using photo bucket etc & the only way I am able to post from my phone right now is because i had to buy the proboards app because I can't post thru explorer any more.
Sorry for the long message . Keep the faith & the home fires burning Fb does not have the feeling of privacy or family feeling of the ranch .
That's enough for now.
D & D
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Post by jayworld on Dec 5, 2014 10:15:52 GMT -5
Hmmm.... maybe I should go check out the FB page; I have an account, but don't post, as I've never been much of a FB person: never have understood why people that were not my friends in high school now contact me years (yes, YEARS) later and want to "friend" me? Are these people just "virtual friends" collectors? The way I feel is that "you weren't my friend back when we could have hung out and now you want to friend me"? Interesting stuff.
All that said, I have checked out to see if there were any updates on the FB page, as I am HUNGRY for updates, figure updates, etc. Looks like Terri's last post was back in February or so announcing she had been bounced from eBay and had set up a store on eBid.
Terry, as far as your statement that "folks are aging out" is concerned, I have to concur. I'm a member of Colonial Fleets (classic Battlestar Galactica), and out of over 1,000 members, there are less than 40 who actively post.
Here, there seems to be about, what, six or seven of us that actively post? I guess each of us has just so much to say, hmmm?
With my Johnny West collection, I'm not sure what if anything to add, as although I love the hobby, I enjoy also vintage baseball cards, classic Battlestar Galactica, 12" vintage GI Joes, vintage Megos, 1970s comic books, sports memorabilia, etc., so that spreads it pretty thin, I guess.
Would like to eventually re-acquire a boxed Jesse James from Terri at some point (I guess the sooner the better, hmmm?), as I used to have the teal body/gray accessory version but had to sell a large part of my collection (that's life). Also would like to re-acquire the custom Charlton Taylor figure that Noah did for me that I unfortunately had to sell, but I assume that's a pipe dream now.
So, for those that post, you think the forum is pretty dead, or is there something we can do? I think, in some ways, our forum is like a vintage baseball card forum that I'm a member of in this way > There is a large enough interest of collectors to continually buy/sell/trade vintage stock, but for the hobby to grow, we need to pass the love of the collectible, in this case Johnny West, to our kids. I remember the excitement of opening up Johnny West at Christmas back in 1972 along with General Custer, Geronimo, and Eric the Viking. My kids now really like the CXR figures I've gotten for them and played with them some, but we need to PLAY and not necessarily have things that sit on a shelf and collect dust. Thoughts?
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Post by savewithdave on Dec 5, 2014 18:27:09 GMT -5
Hey Jay,
as Terri's Box machine is History you may want to buy a Jesse from ebay here is one item # 121508882910
Good luck!
D&D
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Post by otterpar1 on Dec 6, 2014 10:02:33 GMT -5
Jay, on a tangent here, as far as the facebook thing about why do they want to be your friend now, I think it's partly maturity, partly regrets, and partly nostalgia. I know that there are high school classmates that I wish I could go back and know better and am glad to see where they are and what they're doing now.
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Post by jayworld on Dec 7, 2014 21:37:13 GMT -5
Hey Jay, as Terri's Box machine is History you may want to buy a Jesse from ebay here is one item # 121508882910 Good luck! D&D Dave: Missed out on the auction at the BIN price; my understanding is that the only boxes Terri does have is Jesse without manuals..... Every other boxed figure still available sold loose with accessories. |
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Post by Blindpig on Dec 9, 2014 12:20:40 GMT -5
Jay when you get one let me know and I will photocopy my manual for you.
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Post by jayworld on Mar 13, 2023 14:37:45 GMT -5
First time for me visiting here in quite a while; maybe 2-3 years, and even longer to post, especially since most of the group moved over to Facebook. For me, after Noah's untimely passing and Terri liquidating stock over time, and with some on the FB page/site re-creating some special "one-offs" that were out of my budget (with original molds, Mexican molds, etc.), it seemed that my enthusiasm for Johnny West dwindled. I guess for me, I've always liked new products rather than customization. Fortunately, with the new Mego Company (since 2018), for those who collected Mego figures in the 1970s, we have a new renaissance going with new figures from Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, etc.
I really enjoyed CXR products through Noah and Terri, and treasure the time of actually spending almost 30 minutes visiting with Noah several years ago at a local toy show (probably 2007 or so)? He showed me mock-ups of the upcoming Blue and the Gray figures and box art and sold my son and I the new Jed Gibson figure and a Black Knight. Since that time, I've all but sold all of my Marx figures, keeping only the new Marshal Johnny West, Billy Vine, and a couple of other figures.
Saw Mitch's post on FB; my username and password still works here as well....
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